Prayer for Peace in Advent Season

As we enter this time of Advent we continue to pray for the people of Israel and Palestine.

Advent reminds us about the light of life entering the darkness of our world.

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5.

We are invited to prepare for the coming of Jesus who brings light to the darkness. Exposes evil and heals places of pain.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6


So, we call on that light to shine in areas of greatest darkness, and in particular the conflict in Palestine and Israel.

We invite you to read the New Zealand Anglican and Catholic Bishops joint statement on the conflict here.

The statement concluded with the following joint words from Anglican Archbishop Philip Richardson and Bishop Steve Lowe, President of the NZ Catholic Bishops’ Conference:

“To the people of Aotearoa New Zealand: we urge you to pray for peace and to support aid appeals for those impacted by this humanitarian crisis.”

In Psalm 130 we hear: ‘Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord; hear my voice. O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading.’ “May we too be attentive to those who call out to us from the depths of despair and destruction. May we commit ourselves to being instruments of peace,” the bishops concluded.

A Short History of the Israel / Palestine Conflict

Billy Robinson, a former AYM worker and son of Revs Alison and Martin Robinson, works in Beirut and was in Gaza at the time the current crisis broke out. We asked him to provide some thoughts on the situation in Israel-Palestine, which you can read here.

Suggestions as to how to pray for this conflict:

• Find resources on our prayer page for the Israel Gaza conflict here

• Pray with the special Lectio 365 liturgy for the Crisis in Israel and Gaza here

• Refer to the prayer resources on our website